Elevator-lock.



C. PARENT.

ELEVATOR LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28. .1916" 5 m c a. y m w m W i W M F M W h H W mm W W T'l m \fl ,l. L w, w I 7 4 fl w J 6 E 1 1155 I: u w w 5; 4 mm; H.MW 5 I. m 7 4 M 6 C. PARENT.

ELEVATOR LOCK. APPLICATION FILED MAR..28| l9l6.

1,204,815. Patented Nov. 14; 1916.

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CHARLES PARENT, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELEVATOR-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

Application filed March 28, 1916. Serial No. 87,342. p

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES PARENT, acitizen of the United States, residing at Medford, county of Middlesex,State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Elevator-Locks, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to elevator locks and especially to looks such asare employed in freight elevators or passenger elevators which are usedpartially for freight in which means are employed to lock the elevatorafter it has stopped so that it can not be moved either accidentally orby any person on another floor but can be unlocked only by a person inthe elevator.

.The invention will be fully understood and clearly defined when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings and the novel featuresthereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at theclose of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of a deviceembodying the invention attached to the shipper cable and showing thedevice locked between two stop buttons on the cable. Fig. 2 is a planview of the device in its locked position of F ig. l, the cable beingomitted. Fig. 3 is a. vertical sectional view of the device when thejaws are open. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the device when the jawsare open. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the jaws andtheir linkconnections. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the operating lever. Fig. 7 is aview broken away showing the pivot connection between the two jaws andthe spring which closes the jaws. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the jawclosing spring. Fig. 9 is a view partly broken away showing thesupplemental looking device for holding the jaws closed in the eventthat the spring becomes weakened or broken.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 represents the ordinary shipper cablewhich is provided with two stop buttons 2, 3 spaced a short distanceapart from each other, there being a pair of these buttons for eachfloor of the building served by the elevator and I between which thejaws of the lock are to be closed to stop the elevator at the properpoint to serve the floor.

The body A of the device is formed with a central aperture 1 of'suflioient diameter to allow the cable to pass loosely through it. Forconvenience in assembling the parts the said'body is preferably formedwith one portion pivotally connected with the other portion so that thetwo members may be spread open to permit the assembling of the jawswithin the body. In the drawings what may be termed the fixed member ofthe body is represented by 5 and the swinging member by 6. The twomembers 5, 6 are pivotally connected together by a pin 7 the saidswinging member being formed with two ears 8, 8 at the pivot end, andthe fixed member being formed with two cars 9, 9 the ears 8, 8overlapping the ears 9, 9 and being perforated to receive the pivot pin7 The swinging end of the member 6 is formed with a tongue 10whichengages the side of the fixed member 5 and is fastened in itsclosed position by the head 11 of a screw which is screwed into the neck12 of the fixed member 5.

The jaws 13, 1a are formed respectively with cars 15, 16 at one endthereof which are superposed one upon the other and are formedrespectively with the apertures 17, 18 for the passage of the pivot pin.When said jaws are assembled said ears are superposed upon each other-so as to bring the apertures 17, 18 in alinement with each other, andwhile in this position, they are inserted between the ears 9, 9 of thefixed member 5 of the body, said ears 9, 9 being spaced apart from eachother sufliciently to permit the insertion of the ears of the jaws inthis manner. The apertures 17, 18 of the ears of the jaws will be inalinement with the apertures in the ears of the members 5, 6 of thebody, and the pivot pin 7 will pass through the ears of the jaws as wellas the ears of the members 5, 6 of the body. The jaws swing on saidpivot 7 in opening and closing.

A coil spring 19 is placed between the two cars 15, 16 surrounding thepivot pin and is secured at its opposite ends respectively to said cars15, 16 in such manner that when the jaws are opened the said spring willbe put under tension and will tend to close the jaws when the jaws arepermitted to be closed. Preferably means are provided whereby thetension of the spring may be varied, and as the spring becomes weakenedit may be further coiled up 11c to increase its tension. To this end thecar 15 is formed with a perforation 20 and the p ear 16 is formed with aseries of perforations 21 spaced apart from e-achfother. One end of thespring is bent to form afinger which engages with the perforation 20 inthe ear 15 and the other end of the spring is formed with a. finger 23which is adapted to be engaged within one of the perforations whichengages with a segmental shaped notch 28in block 29. The swinging end ofthe aw is formed with a segmental shaped notch 30 which is engaged by asegmental shaped headf31 of a link 32, the other end of said link 32being formed with a segmental head 33 which engages with a segmentalnotch 34 in the block 29. Said block 29 is formed with a vertical keyslot 35which is engaged bythe toe 36 of a lever 37 formed with aperforation 38 through which passes apin 39 by which said lever ispivoted between the ears or bearings 40 rising from the neck 12 of thebody Said lever is provided with a handle 41 by which it is turned onits pivot thereby moving the said block 29 in one direction or the otheraccording to the movement of the lever. lVhenthe lever is inthe positionshown in Figs. 3 and 4 the said block will be in a position to spreadthe links 26, 32. thus spreading open the jaws 13, 1%. When the saidlever 37 is, moved into the position shown in Fig. 1, the said block 29will be moved farthest away from the aperture through the body and thesaid links will be brought into their position most, nearly parallel toeach other as shown in Fig. 2, thus drawing the said jaws toward eachother and making the opening between the jawsof somewhat oval shape asshown in Fig. 2, the short diameter of the opening being considerablyless than thediameter of I the aperture 4 through the body.

The level- 37 is formed with a heel, mak ing a tooth or latch 42 whereit joins the toe 36, and when said lever is turned into the positionshown in Fig. 3, with the jaws spread open, the said tooth 42 rides upout of the slot 35 in the block 29 and then the spring tension on thejaws 13, 14: due to the spring 19 causes the jaws to snap back slightlythereby moving the links 26, 32 and the block 29, and bringing the edge43 of the slot under the tooth 42. It will be seen from Fig. 3 that theslot 35 is sufficiently large to allow for such movement, while the toeof the lever 36 extends down into the slot 35 and against the forwardend thereof. Thus although the spring 19 is put under tension by thespreading open of the jaws, and the tendency of said spring is to closethe jaws and to bring the links 26 and 32 into more nearly parallelrelation to each other, the said lever 37 prevents the backward movementof the block 29 and thus locks the jaws against the closing movement.The stronger the tension on the spring 19, so much the more is theresistance of the lever 37 to the locking or closing movement of thejaws' The lower face of the tooth -1t2 is inclined or beveled slightlyupward to form a sort of cam surface where it engages with the edge 43of the slot, and this, together with the yielding of the tension on thejaws, allows the operator to easily move the lever 37 from the inclinedposition shown in Fig. 3, over past the vertical into the inclinedposition shown in Fig. 1. As soon as the tooth d2 of the lever isreleased from the shoulder d3 of the block at the end of the slot, bythe turning of said lever, the slot in the block being sutiicientlyelongated to admit both the toe 36 and the shoulder 4:1 of the leverwithin the slot, said jaws are free to respond to the pull of the springand to close into the position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The rear extension 1st of the neck 12 of the body is connected with aplug 45 by which the body is connected with a suitable standard 46 whichis shown in Fig. 1 as be ing broken away. Said standard 4:6 rises from abase which is secured to the elevator floor in well known manner, it notbeing deemed necessary to show it in the drawings.

As heretofore constructed, so far as known to me, it has been customaryto form the rear extension of the body which is to be connected with thestandard, with a tapped out lug integral with the body, which is screwedinto the tubular standard with which it is connected. In that form ofconstruction the body has to be turned around to screw the lug into thestandard until it is screwed in tight, and in so doing the body may notbe left in position so that the aperture is in alinement with the cablewhich is to pass through the body. It may be left nearly a wholeturnbeyond proper alinement, and in order to bring it back intoalinement it has I to be turned back through nearly a whole turn, thusleaving a loose connectlon between the body and the standard.

One feature of my invention relates to means whereby a more accurateadjustment may be obtained without loosening the connection with thestandard. Forthis purpose, instead of having the plug 415 made integralwith the extension 4:4: of the body, I form the plug 45 as a separatemember having an upwardly extending stem 60 ofpolygonal contour, beingshown in the drawings as hexagonal, and I form the extension 44 with ahexagonal-sided opening 47 corresponding with the hexagonal form of thestem 60, so that the said stem may be fitted into the said opening 47 inas many difierent positions on its axis as there are faces on the stem.For instance, with the hexagonalsided stem and aperture 47, the stem maybe adjusted in any one of six positions, so that if when the plug isscrewed up fairly tight in the standard 46 the hole 4 in the body is notquite in alinement with the cable, the body may be removed and the pluggiven a slight additional turn to bring it into proper position. It canthus be adjusted so that when first tested it will not be at the mostover 60 out of alinement and it will not be necessary to then turn theplug over 60 and possibly less. As the screw is fairly tight forpractical purposes anywhere within a range of 60 this constructionafifords suflicient adjustment. By making the plug octagonal instead ofhexagonal, the adjustment may be more accurate still. The plug issecured within the extension holder 44 by means of a screw bolt 48 whichis screwed into a tapped out hole in the plug, said screw bolt beingformed with a head 49 which clamps down upon a washer 50, thus holdingthe plug securely and rigidly to the holder.

The operation of the device is as follows Assuming that the elevator isat rest on the level of one of the floors and is looked as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, the two jaws 13, 14 being closed so as to contract theaperture 51 between them. The upper button or. stop 2 of each pair isformed with a tapered portion52 at the upper end, and the lower buttonor stop 3 of each pair is formed with a tapered lower end 53. When thejaws are closed the aperture 51 is too small for either the lower end ofthe upper stop 2 or the upper end of the lower stop 3 to enter theaperture, and therefore the elevator is securely locked until the jawsare opened. The spring 19 normally holds the jaws closed. hen theoperator desires to raise the elevator, before he pulls the shipper ca--ble he will open the jaws by turning the lever 37 from the forwardposition shown in Fig. 1 to the rear, that is, over to the left asviewed in the drawings into the position shown in Fig. 3. As soon as ithas been turned far enough to release the latch-or tooth 42 from theshoulder 43 at the edge of the slot 35, the spring 19 which tends toclose the jaws is prevented from so doing because the tooth 42 willengage the shoul-' ticular floor, as, for instance, the third floor,starting from the bottom he will leave the jaws in the open positionuntil after he has passed the second floor; he will then throw the lever37 forward, that is, to the right as viewed in Fig. 3 so as to close thejaws which are held yieldingly closed by the spring 19.

When the elevator has reached a point just below the third floor so thatthe tapered lower end 53 of the button 3 enters the contracted aperturebetween'the-jaws, the tapered form of the button will act as a cam or awedge to spread the jaws apart against the tension of the spring 19sufliciently to allow the jaws to ride past the upper end of the lowerbutton 3 but will not spread them sufiiciently to throw the lever 37 farenough over for the latch 42 to engage the shoulder -43 to lock the jawsopen. As soon as the jaws have risen above the upper end of the b5 lowerbutton 3, the spring will snap the jaws together again, before the jawsreach the upper button 2, and because of the fact that the lower end ofthe upper button 2 is blunt,

it will form a stop which will prevent the jaws from being spread openagain when they strike the lower end of the button 2. Likewise theelevator can not descend, because the blunt end of the lower buttoncannot spread the jaws. The elevator will thus remain locked until suchtime as the operator sees lit to open the jaws by throwing the lever,and he can, therefore, with entire safety leave the elevator until suchtimeas he desires to return.

Whenever the operator desires to move the car up to the next floor or todescend, he can throw open the jaws by moving the lever 37 by hand. Ifin the descent he desires to stop at any floor before he reaches bottom,he will close the jaws by means of the lever 37 before he reaches thefioor at which he desires to stop and the tapered upper end 52 of theupper button 2 will spread open the jaws sufliciently to allow the jawsto pass over the said button, then they will snap together again beforethe jaws engage the lower button 3, and thus stop the elevator at thedesired floor.

If for any reason the spring becomes broken or too weak to be effective,then when the jaws are open to allow the elevator to rise or descend,and if they'are then closed by means of the lever, just before theelevator reaches the floor at which it is de cided to stop, the taperedlower end of the button 3 will spread open the jaws as al readydescribed, but owing to the inefliciency of the spring the jaws will notbe automatically closed after they pass the lower button, so thatinstead of stopping at the floor intended the elevator will continuerising unless the operator quickly throws the lever by hand while thejaws are between the two buttons 2, 3. But even if thus stopped,

yet owing to the inefficiency of the spring the jaws may becomeaccidentally thrown open. I have therefore provided means whereby whenthe aws are thus closed they may be positively locked closedindependently of the spring. On the back side of the lever 37 I haveprovided a turn button 54 pivoted thereto by a pin 55, said button beingelongated, its width in one direction being less than the width of theslot 56 between the ears 40 in which'the lever 37 is pivoted, but ofgreater length in the other direction than the width of said slot. Undernormal conditions the said button will be turned intoposition so that itlies lengthwise along the back of the lever 23?, so as not to interferewith the opening and closing movement of said lever. hen, however, thespring is out of commission, as previously mentioned, and it is desiredto positively look the jaws against the opening movement, the buttonshould be turned so as to extend crosswise of the lever as shown in Fig.9, in which position the button will span the slot and the ends of saidbutton will bear against the back of'both ears i0 and thus prevent thelever from being thrown from the position of Fig. 3 into the position ofFig. 1. When the operator desires to start the car, he will have to turnthe button 5a to bring it longitudinally of the lever 37, so it can moveinto the slot and then the lever may be turned to open the jaws. leverby hand in order to close the jaws, whenever he desires to lock theelevatoragain. \Vhile the automatic operation is preferable, yet thebutton affords a safety device for use whenever the spring gets out ofcommission.

While 1 have described the use of a turn button, I do not limit myselfto the use of that kind of a fastening; Any suitable fastening which maybe set at will to lock the jaws closed may be employed, and I regardsuch as being within the scope of my inven tion.

hat I claim is:

1. An elevator lock comprising abody having an aperture for the passageof a shipper cable and stop buttons mounted thereon, two aws mountedwithin said body movable toward and from each other, a lever andconnections for moving said aws to form an opening between them for thepassage of the stop buttons and for moving said jaws toward each otherto contract the opening sufiiciently to prevent passing of the buttonstherethrough, a mount having two bearing portions between and to whichsaid lever is pivoted, and a movable bar which is manually operable toprevent the lever from being moved to open the jaws.

2. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture for the passageof a shipper cable and stop buttons mounted on said He will have tothrow the cable, two aws mounted within said body movable toward andfrom each other, means for moving said jaws apart from each other toform an opening between them for the passage of a shipper cable and stopbuttons, a spring for normally moving said jaws toward each other tocontract the opening sufiiciently to prevent passing of thebuttonstherethrough and which normally yields to spreading pressure to permitpas sage of one of the buttons and which normally snaps the jawstogether again after the passage of one button, a lever and connectionsby which said lever may open said aws, a mount within which said leveris pivoted, latch mechanism which, when said lever is moved to open thejaws beyond a predetermined point, will automatically engage said leverto retain it in a position to hold the jaws fully open, and meansconnected with the mount for the lever which, when the aws are closed,may be manually operated at will to bar said lever against being movedin a direction to open the jaws.

3. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture there-throughfor the passage of a shipper cable, two jaws mounted on said body andpivotally connected together at one end, said j awsbeing movable on saidpivot to move the other ends of said jaws toward and from each other, apivot passing through the pivot ends of both of said jaws, a coil springsurrounding said pivot between the said jaws, one end of said springbeing secured to one of the jaws and the other end of the spring beingsecured to the other of said jaws, and means whereby the point ofconnection of the sol-ing with one of said jaws may be varied to changethe tension of the spring.

a. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture for the passageof a shipper cable provided with stop buttons,

two jaws mounted within said body movable toward and from each other, alever, and connections for spreading said jaws to form a passage betweenthem of suflicient diameter for the passage of a shipper cable andbuttons thereon and for moving said jaws toward each other to contractthe opening between them sufficiently to prevent the movement of thebuttons through the jaws, a mount having upright portions between whichsaid lever is pivoted and a movable bar controlled by the operator andadapted to be moved crosswise of the path in which the lever moves tobar said lever against movement to open the jaws.

5. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture there-throughof suiiicient diameter to permit the passage of a shipper cable and stopbuttons mounted thereon, a pair of are shaped jaws pivotally connectedtogether at one end within said body, said jaws being movable on saidpivot in opposite directions so as to vary the size of the openingbetween them, said jaws when closed most nearly together forming anaperture of sufiicient diameter to permit the passage of the cable buttoo small to permit the passage of the buttons on the cable, two linkshaving one end of each piyot-ally connected respectively with theswinging ends of said jaws, a slidable block pivotally connected withthe other ends of said links, means for moving said block in a directiontoward and away from the aperture between said jaws in such manner thatwhen the block moves toward the aperture it spreads said links at agreater angle to each other and thereby spreads the jaws, and when saidblock moves in a reverse direction it draws said links more nearlyparallel to each other, contracting the opening between them, said blockbeing formed with a slot, the means for moving said block consisting ofa lever pivotally mounted and having a toe which extends down into saidslot, said lever being movable on its pivot in such manner that when itis moved in one direction it spreads open the jaws and when it is movedin the other direction it closes the jaws, and being formed with a latchwhich, when the lever has moved sufficiently to spread the jaws fullyopen, engages with the edge of said slot in the block and locks the jawsin the open position.

6. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture there-throughof sufficient diameter to permit the passage of a shipper cable and stopbuttons mounted thereon, a pair of are shaped jaws pivotally connectedtogether at one end within said body, said jaws being movable on saidpivot in opposite directions so as to vary the size of the openingbetween them, said jaws when closed most nearly together forming anaperture of sufficientdiameter to permit the passage of the cable buttoo small to permit the passage of the buttons on the cable, two linkshaving one end of each pivotally connected respectively with theswinging ends of said jaws, a slidable block pivotally connected withthe other ends of said links, means for moving said block in a directiontoward and away from the aperture between said jaws in such manner thatwhen the block moves toward the aperture it spreads said links at agreater angle to each other and thereby spreads the jaws, and when saidblock moves in a reverse direction it draws said links more nearlyparallel to each other and thereby draws the swinging ends of the jawstoward each other, contracting the opening between them, said blockbeing formed with a slot, the means for moving said block consisting ofa lever having a toe which extends down into said slot, two bearingsspaced apart from each other between which said lever extends and inwhich it is pivoted said lever being movable on its pivot in such mannerthat when it is moved in one direction it spreads open the jaws and whenit is moved in the other direction it closes the jaws, said lever beingformed with a latch which, when the lever has moved sufficiently tospread the jaws fully open, engages with the edge of said slot in theblock and locks the jaws in the open position, and lock which may beadjusted to prevent the said lever being turned in a direction to open.the jaws independently of the spring, and which may be adjusted also insuch position as to not interfere with the movement of the said lever.

7. A11 elevator lock comprising a body having there-through an aperturefor the passage of a shipper cable, jaws mounted within said body,having an opening between them for the passage of the cable, said bodybeing formed with an extension portion having a polygonal shapedaperture there-through, a plug threaded to engage with a standardmounted on the elevator, said plug having a polygonal shaped end whichfits into the said polygonal opening in said extension of the body saidbody being adjustable on its axis in as many different positions asthere are sides of the polygon.

S. An elevator lock comprising a body having jaws mounted therein, saidbody being formed with an extension portion having a polygonal shapedaperture therethrough, a plug threaded to engage with a standard mountedon the elevator, said plug having a polygonal stem which fits into thepolygonal opening in said extension of the body said body beingadjustable on its axis in as many different positions as there are sidesof the polygon, and means for securing said plug in its adjustedposition in said extension member.

9. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture for passage ofa shipper cable, two jaws mounted therein movable toward and from eachother to vary the size of the opening between them, said cable passingthrough the opening between the jaws and through said aperture in thebody, a pivoted lever, intermediate connections whereby the movement ofsaid lever on its pivot, in one direction spreads said jaws to enlargethe opening between them and whereby the movement of said lever in theother direction draws the jaws toward each other to contract the openingbetween them, and movable means connected with the mount for the leverwhich when the aws are closed may be manually operated at will to barsaid lever against being moved in a direction to open the jaws.

10. An elevator lock comprising a body having an aperture for passage ofa shipper cable, two jaws mounted therein movable toward and from eachother to vary the size of the opening between them, said cable passingthrough saidaperture in the body and through the opening between thejaws, said body being formed with a vertical slot to receive a lever foractuating said jaws, and being formed with lugs to serve as bearings forsaid lever, a lever pivoted between said lugs and projecting down intosaid slot, a movable member connected with said jaws and with which thelower edge of said 1ever engages to actuate said jaws whereby themovement of said lever on its pivot spreads said jaws to enlarge theopening between them and wherebythe movement of saidlever in theopposite direction draws the jaws toward each other to contract the.

be turned to extend transversely of the .rear face of the lugs betweenwhich the lever is journaled and lock said lever against movement toopen the jaws and which may be manually turned at the will of theoperator to disengage it from the lugs and permit the lever to be turnedto open the aws. In testimony. whereof I aiiix my signature, in presenceof two witnesses.

CHARLES PARENT. lVitnesses:

WILLIAM. A. COPE AND, vAnion H.v MORRISON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

